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Chrysler plays up the 2013 Dodge Dart's low $15,995 starting price.

Chrysler Group airs the first television commercial for its new Dodge Dart, the most important car the automaker has introduced since its 2009 emergence from bankruptcy under ownership by Italy's Fiat, on Tuesday during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Bearing a name plucked from Chrysler's history books, the Dodge Dart is critical to the automaker on multiple fronts. It is the first offspring of the Fiat-Chrysler marriage; it is the first car to share its architecture with a Fiat, in this case the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. It is Chrysler's first small car in a long time -- since the Dodge Neon was discontinued after the 2005 model year.

With roller-coaster gas price and consumers making fuel economy their top priority, the compact-car segment has been growing in volume and become crowded with solid new players, including ones from Chrysler's cross-town rivals, the Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus along with upstart Hyundai Elantra and stalwarts Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. Until now, Chrysler has sat the bench.

The theme of the inaugural Dart commercial is game changing – a game-changing car from a game-changing company. The ad opens with the words "how to change cars forever." Fast-paced images combined with a touch of humor, show the immense amount of time and effort Chrysler workers spent on developing the Dart. Ideas were developed and tossed for something better. At the same time, the ad highlights the Dart's selling points: 41 mile-per-gallon highway fuel economy; powerful engine; its giant display screen; and the available smart phone app to start it remotely.

The commercial also sends the message that Chrysler is not the Chrysler of old. Like the rebelliousness that the Dodge brand stands for, Chrysler is a company that rebukes traditional corporate bureaucracy, the ad suggests. That's demonstrated when the bean counters are thrown out after protesting the car's low starting price -- another strong selling point of the Dart, which starts at $15,995. In the vein of The Price is Right, a game show hostess holds the $15,995 over the car in one flash during the ad.

The ad has the feel of Chrysler's now-famous Super Bowl ad of two years ago. Instead of Eminem, the Jay-Z and Kanye West track, “No Church in the Wild,” from their “Watch the Throne” album, provide the music. The commercial also includes cameo appearances by athletes who are stars in their sport, including NFL quarterback Tom Brady. And the initial ad is long; not the two minutes of Chrysler's Super Bowl ads but a hefty 90 seconds, which will be shortened to 60- and 30-second sports to air on television and in movie theaters throughout the summer.

"We have a big story to tell so we're starting with 90 seconds, and we wanted it to be entertaining so we went with the longer format," Chrysler's marketing chief, Olivier Francois, said in an interview. He would not reveal how much the automaker would spend on the campaign but said it was the most important ad campaign since the 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee was launched in terms of size and message.

Additionally, the Dodge Dart must attract the entry-level youth buyer. To that end, Chrysler will launch in partnership with Viacom the Dodge Dart Challenge "Live in It to Win It." It will be part of Viacom's coverage of the 2012 Comic-Con International, the world's largest comic book and popular arts convention, in San Diego. The challenge, to be promoted on Viacom's MTV, VH1, Spike and Comedy Central, has contestants competing in a four-day event for a chance to win a Dodge Dart. Dodge also is partnering with four online communities -- deviantART.com, ReverbNation.com, Transworld and.Free Clothing Co. -- to challenge individuals to create Dart-inspired works of art, songs, clothing and skateboard decks.

The Dart needs substantial marketing help. The car went into production at Chrysler's Belvidere, Ill., plant in May and some were sold in June, but most consumers don't know about the car and don't have it on their shopping lists. Dodge Dart shopping consideration, as measured by visitors to car-shopping site Edmunds.com, has inched higher since the January unveiling of the Dart at the Detroit auto show. But still its consideration by consumers is only on par with the aged Nissan Sentra and far behind its key rivals of Toyota, Honda, Ford and Hyundai.

The Dodge Dart commercials, created by Portland-Ore.-based advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, will be followed by an even bigger marketing push in September when more cars will be available dealer showrooms.